Ryan getting up close and personal with new set of ears at Astros camp

Astros manager Bo Porter, left, and Nolan Ryan watch workouts on Tuesday, a day off for the major league team.

Astros manager Bo Porter, left, and Nolan Ryan watch workouts on Tuesday, a day off for the major league team.

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Texas Rangers CEO and President Nolan Ryan listens during a news conference announcing his retirement from the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. Ryan is retiring after six seasons as CEO and will retire at the end of this month. (AP Photo/LM Otero) less

Texas Rangers CEO and President Nolan Ryan listens during a news conference announcing his retirement from the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. Ryan is retiring after six seasons as CEO and ... more

Photo: LM Otero, STF

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Bianca Acosta, 12, of Pearland called Nolan Ryan "an American hero" after receiving an autograph from the new Astros adviser on Tuesday.

Bianca Acosta, 12, of Pearland called Nolan Ryan "an American hero" after receiving an autograph from the new Astros adviser on Tuesday.

Ryan getting up close and personal with new set of ears at Astros camp

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KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Bianca Acosta planned to take her Nolan Ryan Junior High T-shirt to Osceola County Stadium on Tuesday morning in hopes of showing it off to her school's namesake. She forgot the shirt at the hotel, but the Pearland sixth-grader still finished the day with a story of a lifetime.

To 12-year-old Bianca and her7-year-old sister, Sofia, the Hall of Famer is more than a baseball legend. To them, Ryan is up there with the likes of Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

"He's an American hero," said Sofia, who proudly declares that she, too, will eventually attend Nolan Ryan Junior High.

Ryan has a special place in Texas history, and it's quite evident the Astros and their fans were happy to have him back at spring training Tuesday.

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"Obviously, each generation you get further away from your career, so there's less people familiar with what happened in your career and about your career," Ryan said. "I think that's a natural progression that we all experienced.

"I'm sure that a lot of those kids that go to Nolan Ryan (Junior High), it's just a name on the building, and it really doesn't mean anything to them. And then those that have further awareness due to baseball - like the little girl with her dad - it probably has a different meaning to her."

The Acostas and the Astros definitely appreciate what Ryan means to the city of Houston, the state of Texas and baseball in general. Moreover, they are clearly proud to welcome the Alvin native back to his hometown team.

Meet and greet for now

Ryan, who returned to the Astros last month as a special adviser after spending the previous six seasons as CEO of the Texas Rangers, spent the first of his 10 days at Astros camp getting acquainted with the players and coaches in the farm system.

He arrived early and spent more than two hours with Astros farm director Quinton McCracken. He then spent nearly three hours watching a minor league intrasquad game with Astros manager Bo Porter rarely leaving his side.

As Ryan chatted with Porter, more than three dozen fans stood a respectful 15 feet behind them for more than three hours in hopes of landing an autograph from the man who threw a record seven no-hitters.

"It's instant credibility, instant knowledge," McCracken said of having Ryan back in the organization. "The man's a living legend, so everything from his knowledge of the game, knowledge of the industry, experience- that's something we'll all be able to lean on not only the players, but the staff and front office staff. He brings a wealth of knowledge to the organization."

Once the intrasquad game was over, several minor league coaches and instructors sought Ryan's advice and listened intently as the barrel-chested 67-year-old pantomimed fielding a grounder as an example for them.

'A learning process'

During his 10-day stint in camp, Ryan will be busy familiarizing himself with the organization. His Alvin High sweetheart, Ruth, made the trip, too. Their eldest son, Reid, the Astros' president of baseball operations, is expected in town with his kids later in the week.

Nolan says Ruth already has plans to take the grandkids to Disney World. He'll be at the park, however, doing homework.

"My agenda this spring is a learning process," Ryan said. "Just trying to learn the players and the coaches and the staff here and to try to get as familiar with what the organization does as I possibly can."

Ryan spent nine of his 27 major league seasons with the Astros. He was also a special assistant to former Astros owner Drayton McLane from 2004 to 2008 on a personal services contract, but it's going to take awhile before he feels back at home with his true hometown club.

He had been the CEO of the Rangers from 2008 until resigning in October. Unlike former Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler, who called Rangers general manager Jon Daniels a "sleazeball" in a recent ESPN The Magazine piece, Ryan has not lashed out at his former club for the way he was marginalized and eventually pushed out of Arlington.

No hard feelings

Nonetheless, Ryan understands Kinsler's mindset.

"As I told Ruth, the point of the story is that he was hurt. That was his club, and he was very much a Texas Ranger, and he was hurt by getting traded in the manner in which it happened and he found out about it," Ryan said of Kinsler. "The writer that wrote the story just happened to catch him when he was still upset by it and vented about it.

"That's the way I took the article. I really think that Ian was all in of being a Texas Ranger and he had hoped that's where he'd retire. That's kind of what I gathered from him when we talked about the contract extension that he has now."

Which leads to another question: Does Ryan have any hard feelings toward the Rangers?

"Oh, I have disappointment that things worked out like they did, but it was time for me to move on," he said. "I recognized that, so we didn't obviously accomplish everything that we set out to do. It's disappointing that we didn't win a world championship during the period of time I was there."

Ryan candidly admits he doesn't know enough about the players in his new organization to honestly predict when the Astros will compete for a World Series, but that's the ultimate goal.

Moreover, it's clear the little girl from Nolan Ryan Junior High and her family weren't the only ones happy to have him back with the Astros.

"Glad you're back!" a woman shouted while hopping along with her signed baseball.

"We're so proud of your son!" yelled another retiree.

A real 'sounding board'

After three consecutive seasons with the worst record in baseball, the Astros hope Ryan helps lead them to prominence in the same way he lifted the struggling Rangers out of bankruptcy all the way to consecutive World Series appearances.

"He's been a part of championship teams and teams that have played in the World Series," Porter said of Ryan. "I'm going to seek his advice on decision-making. I'm going to seek his advice on evaluations. I'm going to seek his advice from just a baseball standpoint of all the different positions he's held in the game.

"I think he's going to be very beneficial in a lot of things that take place in our game that you now have someone of his caliber that you can go to and be a sounding board or a person you can seek advice from."